Two dogs attacked a smaller dog and the animal’s owner when he tried to intervene, a dispatcher with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Avalon station told KTLA. The dispatcher described the larger dogs as pit bulls.

The incident occurred Tuesday on the Avalon Pier. The adult male victim was airlifted to a hospital for treatment, the dispatcher said.

On Friday, that victim, John Brady, 52, of Huntington Beach, spoke to KTLA from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, showing the deep wounds for which he’d been in surgery. His dog, a 6-year-old Jack Russell terrier rescue named Josh, also underwent surgery.

John Brady's dog Josh, who was attacked by two much larger dogs, is shown in a photo provided by Brady.

"All I did is lift my dog off the ground and I was being chewed on instantly," he recalled, his voice quavering. "I knew I was going to die. I was screaming for help, and everybody was just watching ... until the last second."

Brady, a fisherman, said at one point he pulled out a pocket knife and began stabbing the dogs.

"It was so scary," he recalled, tearing up. "I was just face to the ground, and just being chewed on by ... I couldn't even call them dogs."

Brady received skin grafts on both legs, describing one leg as being nearly “chewed off.” He’ll need several more surgeries, he said.

A disturbing 46-second video captured by a witness and posted to Facebook showed several people standing nearby as a bloodied Brady fought the dogs to get Josh away from them. The two attacking dogs then began fighting each other. A woman -- apparently the larger dogs' owner -- sobbed and asked for help as she struggled to gain control of the animals, the video shows.

A man in a Harbor Patrol jacket eventually pulled one of the larger dogs away, grabbing its tail.

Warning: Video contains graphic images and language

John Brady's son Brooke Brady on Wednesday created a GoFundMe page for Josh that raised about $2,300 by Friday afternoon.

Josh is shown after surgery in a photo provided by his owner, John Brady.

“My dad out of instinct tried protecting his dog,” Brady wrote on the page.

The family has hired an attorney, Ron Chini, who said negligence is at issue.

John Brady said one of his top motivations is to get dog owners to keep their pets on leash, as required by law in many jurisdictions, including Los Angeles County, where a leash of less than 6 feet is mandated in public spaces.